After All, You're My Wonderwall
by toocoolforschool911
Summary: Everyone in glee club was making bets about how he's still in love with her. She doesn't know what to do because she's certain she loves Finn, but Sam gives her this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been writing lately. School's almost over, and all the teachers have been really evil mean with homework and projects. It doesn't help that I had AP tests to study for. Now that I'm free from AP U.S. history and only have the english test to take (which no one really studies for), I found some time to write this one-shot. It's implied Fabrevans, with possibility of expanding to a short little story if you guys want. Hope you guys like it! :)**

**P.S. I have not forgotten about _Truly Madly Deeply!_ I've hit a writer's block with that one, but fear not, I have been inspired again with this recent turn of events on Glee. I sense a Quinn-Sam reunion! :D**

**Disclaimer: **If I owned _Glee, _Quinn would be with Sam who would be best friends with Puck who would be madly in love with Rachel who would have a sassy gay friend in Kurt who would be dating sexy Blaine who plays for the same team as Santana who acts amazingly adorable all the time with Brittany who becomes best friends with Artie who used to go out with Tina who can't stop being cute with other Asian Mike who invites Matt back to McKinley to date Mercedes who watches Finn possibly fall for the fiesty Lauren. Sadly I do not own _Glee_, and this is all wishful thinking. [But hey, you never know ;) ]

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><p>Nobody goes out and calls him the poor boy or anything, but that's exactly what he is now, <em>poor<em>.

After he told everyone in glee club about his current financial situation, the news had eventually spread around McKinley. He's surprised when no one in school sees him as a freak. Instead they do something far worse, they pity him. All the students treat him like he's made out of glass whenever talking to him or being near him, and frankly, he would have gladly taken the loser treatment over this.

The worst comes from the people in glee. Everyone's all apologies about how they accused him of cheating, or how they feel bad for what he's going through. He appreciates their support and their care, but he's getting sick of how _fake_ people are acting. Just last week they were blaming him for ruining two relationships, and now they're acting as if they're saints. He forgives them for what they did, but he also wishes that things would go back to normal.

"Ay, _gringo_, watch where you're going!" a voice yells as he stepped on someone's foot.

Well, _one _person wasn't treating him any different though.

He puts on an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Santana."

"Yeah you should be," she nods. "Seriously, I know you're as poor as Tiny Tim now, but that doesn't mean you get to go around and ruin people's new and expensive heels."

He actually laughs because he can always count on Santana never treating him any differently. "Charming as ever I see."

"That's right, _puta_," she smirks.

"Santana, language please!" Mr. Schue reprimands, shaking his head as he walks into the room. "Just because you curse in another language, doesn't mean I don't understand what you're saying. I teach Spanish you know."

"You don't say," Mercedes sarcastically quips.

"Ha, funny," Mr. Schue replies unamused. "Anyways guys, we've been asked to perform at prom! So, in order to prepare for one of the most important nights of your lives, we'll be singing exciting party songs in here this week!"

He raises his hand, feeling the red creep onto his cheeks. "Um, Mr. Schue? I can't really afford to go to prom right now."

"Which is why we're going to be singing at prom, Sam," his teacher smiles understandingly. "All you guys get to attend for free."

Everyone in the room cheered.

"You didn't have to do that for me, Mr. Schue," he answers embarrassed.

"What are you talking about? This is all beneficial practice for Nationals!" Mr. Schue winks. "So guys feel free to pick any song you want, and feel free to work with other people. I'll be judging who's songs we'll be doing at Thursday's rehearsal. Alright, you're all dismissed!"

Most of the club is gone, when he feels someone behind him. He turns around and is met with the mischievous grins of Puck and Artie.

"Sup, Thor," Puck nods. (The mohawked-boy had recently taken to nicknaming him after the blonde superhero because of his failure to get a haircut for his long hair.) "Wanna hear this sick idea Wheels and I got for prom?"

"Sure," he says curious.

"Well, the three of us were totally awesome on our JB cover band," Artie explains. "We were thinking of remaking this song from this viral video made by a girl with a rich daddy and possession of an autotuner. We already asked Mike to join in, but Tina told him that she was cutting off his _rights_ to certain activities if he so much as busted a move for our plan. Anyways, you want in?"

He laughs. "You guys seriously want to do _Friday_?"

"Dude prom's on a Friday this year! It's basically a sign from God," Puck exclaims. "Besides, think about all the lady love we'd get for being so badass about covering a song so horrible and then making it legitly listenable to!"

"Hmm, I don't know..." he voices out.

"C'mon, I'm sure Quinn would dig it," Artie begs.

He shoots a look at the wheel-chair bound boy. "How's that supposed to make me say yes? Quinn and I are just friends."

"Yeah, sure," Artie snorts. "You know, everyone heard the whole speech about how Finn stole _your _girl."

Puck nodded, adding, "And speaking of Hudson, he told me that apparently the Ex-Virgin Lucy finds embarrassing and shameless things sexy. So if you do this, I'm sure you could get her to jump your bones again in a heartbeat."

"If I say yes and agree, will you guys please stop talking this nonsense about Quinn?" he exasperatedly questions.

"Whatever you want," Artie grins. "Look out McKinley, we be rocking this prom, yo!"

Puck smirks. "Fuck yeah we are Abrams!"

He sighs, shaking his head. He had the weirdest friends ever, maybe the pity treatment wasn't that bad after all.

* * *

><p>She drives around for a bit before ending up at the hotel where Sam's family is staying at.<p>

She needed to think about everything that had gone on in glee last week, and she realizes a few things. Finn clearly loves her, but it seemed the boy would always be _in_ love with Rachel. Speaking of Rachel, she admires the girl's determination in fighting for what she wants, but she thought it a bit underhanded that she had to seduce Finn when he blatantly had a girlfriend.

She wishes the Pinocchio-nosed midget would respect boundaries because she always had abandonment issues, and now she's worried about Finn suddenly leaving her to rekindle his romance with Rachel.

She guesses that's why she's here in the motel parking lot. Sam had never left her, it was she who had left him.

He had forgiven her though, and despite how badly she knows she hurt him, he never stopped being her friend. But she also feels confused whenever she's around the blonde boy. Everyone in glee club was making bets about how he's still in love with her because other than Kurt, he had opened up to her about his family problems.

She'd disagree about all the claims they made, but sometimes she's not sure. Whenever she babysits with Sam, she notices that he has a special smile for his siblings, but he has a smile that he gives only her. He always holds her hands for too long, and she sometimes catches him staring at her. He always sweet too, complimenting her and making her feel beautiful. She doesn't know what to do because she's certain she loves Finn, but Sam gives her this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.

A soft knock breaks her from her thoughts, and she glances to the window. When she sees it's only Sam, she opens her door, and he comes to stand by her.

"Quinn, what are you doing here? You don't have to babysit today," Sam says concerned. "This place is pretty sketchy, and you shouldn't just sit around in the car all by yourself."

She apologizes.

"You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" he asks again.

She tries to make up a convincing answer. "I just thought I'd spend some time with your little sister."

"Why?" he wonders. "I wouldn't want to spend any more time with her, and yet here you are, willingly wanting to hang out with her."

"That's mean," she says, hitting him in the shoulder. "You love your sister and your brother, and you know it."

"Yeah, I know," he replies, shaking his hair. "So instead of questioning the love I have for my younger clones, would you like to come inside? I wouldn't want some shady jerk coming here and hitting on you. Seriously, your prettyness should be illegal."

There were those compliments again. "That's not a word."

He shrugs. "In your case, it should be."

She blushes, ducking down. "Let me just lock up the car, and I'll be there in a few."

"Just hurry up," he orders. "I'll wait for you."

"Hmm, bossy Sam today huh," she teases, pressing the lock button on her key and walking towards the hotel doors with him. "Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

He softly bumps her shoulder with his. "Shut up."

As soon as he opens the door, a blonde blur latches itself onto Quinn. "I missed you so much, Quinn!"

He chuckles. "Stacy, how did you even know Quinn was here?"

"I moved aside the blinds and looked out, silly," she explains.

"Of course you did," he replies. He looks over to the bed and sees his brother watching TV. "Stevie, aren't you going to come say hi to Quinn?"

His brother moves his hand and waves it around a bit. "Hi, Quinn."

"Glad to know you care so much, Stevie," Quinn jokes.

The boy turns his head then as a boring scene comes up on the screen. He shoots her a wink then turns back to the TV set.

Quinn laughs, whispering into Sam's ear, "Now I know who inherited all the charm in the family."

"Hey, I can be charming," he whines.

"Whatever you say," she smirks. She then glances down at the young girl who has started to tug on her dress. "What's wrong sweetie?"

"You're paying too much attention to Stevie and Sammy," Stacy pouts. "Didn't you miss me too?"

"Of course, I did," she smiles. "Although I seem to remember seeing you at church just twenty-four hours ago."

"Well twenty-four is big," Stacy exclaims. "I need more than my two hands to count that! I might need to use my feet too!"

She pretends to count on her hands and wiggles her toes in her sandals. "I guess you're right."

"That's what my mommy and daddy say," the little girl grins. "Even smarter than Sammy and Stevie!"

"Hey!" her brothers protest. Then she sees her two older siblings share a look, so she moves to hide behind Quinn's back. "Please don't eat me."

Sam nods at Stevie, and before the girls know what's happening, Sam's throwing both of them onto the bed. Then the two boys are tickling them, trapping them onto the mattress.

"Stevie...stop! I'm...telling!" a squeaky voice giggles.

"Sam, you...better let...me go!" an older girl threatens in between laughs. "I'm...going to...hurt you!"

The boys stop. Stacy hits her brother on the arm, then moves with Stevie onto the floor to watch TV. They don't see Sam or Quinn, however.

The two teens notice the compromising position they're in. One of his hands are pinning her arms above her head, the other is resting just below her chest. He's straddling her, and she breathing deeply with a red tint to her cheeks. Then before he knows it, he's being pushed to the floor.

"Ow!" he groans. "That hurt a lot!"

"I did say I was going to hurt you," she huffs, standing up and fixing her dress.

"You didn't have to do such a good job at it," he complains.

She smugly grins. "You deserved it. Right Stace?"

The girl smiles, nodding her head eagerly. "Yupp, you did Sammy! You and Stevie are big meanies."

"That's not fair!" Sam yells with a frown. "Stacy's always on your side!"

"It's not my fault your sister loves me more than you," she says, sticking out her tongue. A sound from the pocket of her cardigan stops her from throwing more insults at him. _Quinn, dear, dinner is in 10 minutes. _

She sighs, reading her mother's text message. She moves to the two younger kids seated on the floor. "I have to go now guys."

"Already?" Stacy sadly asks. "But you just got here."

"If I don't, I'll miss dinner. My mommy would be mad at me then," she explains.

"We can't have that," Stacy nods vigorously. Then she shoots puppy-dog eyes at Quinn. "Will you come back tomorrow?"

"Definitely," Quinn smiles, hugging Stacy.

The little girl grins. "Good. Being around stinky boys all the time isn't fun."

She laughs, and then she moves to the other Evans sibling, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'll see you later, Stevie." The boy's eyes widen, and he touches a hand to his reddening cheek.

She leaves the room with Sam, who sternly insists on walking her out. "I think my little brother has a crush on you."

"Stevie's sweet, but I think I like boys my own age," she teases.

They reach her car, and she sits inside, starting the engine.

"What? I don't get a kiss," he grins, standing back from her car.

She backs out of the parking spot, and shoots him a flying kiss. "See you tomorrow, Evans!"

He catches it with one of his hands, goofily smiling all the way back to the hotel room.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So due to most of you guys reviewing for me to continue this story, I've decided to make it more than a one-shot. I'm writing some of this before the prom episode, so parts of it are completely inaccurate from canon. I apologize for updating so late, but I just couldn't find the time to proofread so this has been in my computer for awhile. [Even right now, I still not so sure if everything's correct. Feel free to review about any mistakes I might have made!]I hope you'll all forgive me! Enjoy the story!**

**P. S.** **Please excuse the lack of Fabrevans this chapter. There's a somewhat hint at the end, but currently I have to show the lameness that is Fuinn. **

**Disclaimer: **Food-less, summer-less, and glee-less. It's a sad world that we live in.

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><p>He feels dumb as he walks into the auditorium on Thursday. He's wearing 'party' clothes and carrying around a steering wheel, which he had found lying around near the dumpster of the motel two days ago.<p>

Puck had come over that day to practice, and the boy had managed to convince him and Artie that it would be 'epicly badass' if they used it for their song. The mohawked boy had guaranteed it would help them win.

The three of them were performing last, so they get to size up their competition before they go on.

Santana performs this song by Air Supply, while Mike dances around her. The Latina stops singing after the chorus. She complains about how their song was too sappy for prom, and Mike glares at her. Everyone awkwardly claps when the two bow. He vaguely catches Mike calling Santana out for throwing the competition for someone.

Rachel bounces on stage next, Kurt, Lauren, and Mercedes in tow. They begin to sing the theme song to _Dream Girls,_ but halfway through their performance, the four start to bicker on stage. It looks like Rachel had accidently stepped on the sash of Kurt's new coat, and the boy had become defensive, yelling about 'prada' and how it was worth much more than 'nada.' Then Mercedes marches off with Lauren as they complain about the divas they have to work with. He sees Mr. Schue shake his head and call out the next act.

Everyone is confused when Blaine walks confidently up on stage, Brittany and Tina carrying mic stands on either side of him. He starts singing _I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You_, while the two girls harmonize in the background. The whole club stands up to applaud them when they're done, and Mr. Schue questions why Blaine is at McKinley and not Dalton. The boy explains that Brittany and Tina had asked him for the favor, plus he wanted to surprise Kurt. All the girls swoon and Kurt turns tomato red, while Mr. Schue declares that they've won one of the two performing spots for prom.

Then Quinn gracefully stomps to the front, and Finn lumbers with a stoic expression behind her. He notices that her eyes show tiredness, and that her lips are turned into a fake smile. He opens with the first lines of a Backstreet Boys song, and she sings the chorus about how 'I want it that way.' They circle around each other angrily, and by the time they're done, she looks about ready to slap him. Everyone feels uncomfortable, so they just stare as Mr. Schue critique that the song was a great choice, but the way they sang it wasn't prom-appropriate.

He jumps up and waits for Puck to roll Artie onto the stage.

"So I know all of you might laugh," he begins, "but hear us out before you judge us. Go!" He nods to his friends.

Puck starts to sing the opening lyrics, and he hears someone laugh in the crowd. They don't pay attention though, and keep singing. He tosses the steering wheel to Artie, then he and Puck form a line behind him, popping out every few seconds. As they sing their last 'partying, partying, yeah,' everyone cheers and whistles.

"Well I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that," Mr. Schue confesses. "But, you guys managed to make it work, so for successfully making that song 'fun, fun, fun' you guys can sing it at prom."

Puck smirks at Artie who holds his hand up for a high-five. He shakes his head because he can't believe they just won. He tells the guys he'll see them tomorrow, and he jogs out to the parking lot. He starts up his jeep, and drives to the motel to babysit his siblings.

* * *

><p>She opens the door to her house, extremely tired out from being at school. Not only did she lose another glee competition, but she also had argued with Finn at least three times today.<p>

He was questioning her about her close friendship with Sam, accusing her of falling in love and cheating with another boy. She had then fought back by asking why she had seen him talking to Rachel earlier in the halls. Their discussion had turned heated, making them both angry. They hadn't apologized yet, so now they aren't speaking to one another.

She just wishes he would trust her. She knows she hasn't always been faithful in her past relationships, but most of the time he's the one causing her to cheat. The mistake with Puck resulted from him neglecting her, and her finding out about him kissing Rachel. Then her incident with Sam had started when he was tempting her to come back to him.

She sighs as she place the keys on the table. A bright pink note catches her eye, and she picks it up.

_Quinnie, I decided to visit your sister in Columbus for today and tonight. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. I left money in the jar, and if you want, brownies in the oven. Please be safe home alone. And absolutely no boys allowed in the house. Remember, abstinence abstinence yay yay yay! Don't let any boy tell you otherwise. Love, Mom_

She walks over to the jar and checks how much money is in it. It's a hundred dollars, so it should definitely last until her mom gets back. She figures that she'll just order a pizza for dinner tonight.

She's just about to dial the phone for _Pizza Hut_, when her phone starts to vibrate in her hand. _Finn H._, it reads.

She doesn't know if she should let the call go to voicemail or if she should pick it up. She notices that the phone has stopped vibrating, but seconds later it begins again. Pressing the call button, she decides to listen to what Finn has to say.

"What do you want, Finn?" she mumbles tiredly. No one answers, just light breathing on the other line. "Finn? This isn't funny."

A voice suddenly speaks up, panicked. "Help! Quinn! Help me!"

She forgets about all the anger she had for him earlier and becomes concerned. "Finn, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

"No, I...," his voice cuts off.

She freaks out for a few seconds, but then takes action when the reality of the situation sets in. Finn could be in trouble somewhere, and he needs her help. She grabs her jacket from the living room chair, finds her car keys, and bolts to the door.

As soon as she opens the door, however, she finds Finn standing there. He's safe, and he had her worried for absolutely no reason. He seems like he wants to tell her something, but she's too mad and angry right now to listen to what he planned to say.

"Are you out of your mind?" she yells. "You can't call someone during the night for help, and then expect them to not worry about you! You're so _stupid_!"

He looks hurt, and she thinks good because he deserves it. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you would freak out."

"Wouldn't freak out?" she shouts. "Why wouldn't I freak out when I get a call from my boyfriend at seven in the evening, and he's asking for help? I love you, you big dumb idiot, and of course I'd be concerned about you!"

He smirks then, and she wants to punch that smile off his face. "So you do love me, huh?"

"That's all your concerned about right now? That I love you? Ughhhh!" she says, throwing her hands up in the air. She's about to close the door on his face, but then his stupid gigantic hands are able to catch it before she's able to. He nudges it open again.

"Look, I'm sorry, Quinn, for everything," he explains, an apologetic and puppy-dog expression on his face. "I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier for hanging out with Sam. I should have trusted you. And I'm sorry that I scared you right now. I just knew you weren't going to talk to me, so I thought it was a good idea to make it seem like I was in trouble. It was an awesome plan at the time, but I guess I didn't think it through. I'm sorry that I'm really retarded, I just needed to speak with you. I couldn't lose you. I love you too much."

The anger in her heart softens a bit, but she's still mad at him for putting her through that grief. "I forgive you for accusing me earlier, and I'm sorry for getting mad about Rachel. But now I'm pissed at you because you had me worried for no reason."

She quickly tries to close the door again, but just like the last time, his hands are able to stop it. "I'm sorry, I really am. But please just come outside real fast? Just give me five minutes and hear me out. When my time's up, I swear I won't bother you again for the rest of my life, which by the way is going to be hard since we're sort of dating and I tend to..."

"If I go with you, will you shut up already?" she interrupts. It sounds rude, but once he begins to ramble, it usually doesn't stop for a good fifteen minutes.

He smiles widely then and nods. She lets him take her hand and lead her onto the front lawn. Standing confused in the darkness, she's about to ask him what's going on as he leaves her side to walk a few feet away from her.

"Hit it guys!" he hollers.

Suddenly, two bright rays are shining on her. She sees that one of the lights is coming from Puck's old Chevy truck. The other one is from Finn's Toyota 4Runner, and she notices a blonde mop of hair in the passenger seat, with little blonde kids squirming around in the back.

"I know I never asked you to prom," he starts, "so I thought I'd make it up to you with this proposal. I hope you'll forgive me, Lucy Quinn Fabray, 'cuz I really love you. I know we have our issues and that we hurt each other a lot, but all couples usually do. What really counts in a relationship though is how you show the other person how much you love them and how willing you are to make them happy."

He ends his monologue and whistles. Puck and Sam come out of their vehicles to join him, strumming notes on their guitars. She doesn't know what song their playing, but when Finn begins singing she finally realizes what is. It's the original _Forever Young _by Alphaville,_ their _song.

When they had first begun dating freshman year, _Napoleon Dynamite_ had been one of the first movies they had watched together. It was on TV the first time she was at his house. She hated the movie since it was completely childish, but Finn loved it, calling the movie 'pretty sweet' and 'awesome.' She had changed her mind after Finn had told her that when they went to prom together, he would request for the DJ to play_ Forever Young _for her. She thought it was 'pretty sweet' of him to say, and from then on, it had been special to them.

She shakes off the memory playing in her head to focus on her boyfriend singing. Noticing for the first time the 'Vote for Pedro' shirt he has on, she starts to giggle as he walks towards her to hold her hand.

The song ends, and he presses a piece of paper to the palm of her hand. "I sort of forgot to bring a pen for you."

She doesn't understand what a pen has to do with anything, but everything makes sense when she unfolds the paper. It reads _Will you go to prom with me?_, and underneath is the word _check_ with a yes and no box at the very bottom. She involuntarily smiles because the note is so elementary school, but it's also such a _Finn_ way to ask, making it perfect.

"You're such a doofus you know that," she teases. His face falls, and he clearly doesn't know that she had been joking. She feels bad at first, but she knows her answer will make it all better. "Of course, I'll go to prom with you, Napoleon."

He grins, picking her up and swinging her around.

"Damn, Hudson, can you try and not make me and Evans here fucking puke," Puck says. The two other boys had now reached them, and Puck looked disgusted, while Sam appeared to be amused by the situation.

"Oh, shut up, Puckerman," she retorted. After staring at the blonde and the mohawked boys for a few seconds, something clicks in her head. "I can't believe you two let Finn call me asking for help! What in the world were the two of you thinking?"

"I thought it was a pretty great idea," Sam shrugs. She shakes her head because sometimes she wonders if Finn and her ex-boyfriend share a brain.

Puck smirks at her. "Thought it'd be fucking hilarious to see this pussy over here act like a dumbass in the name of love."

"You're such a jerk, Puck," she says.

"Ouch, that really hurt," he mocks, clutching at his chest. He grins wickedly after a minute. "Don't you find it a bit fucked up that you've practically banged every guy here right now, Fabray?"

"Dude! Totally not cool," Finn defends, shoving at the boy's shoulder.

Puck holds his arms up. "What? The Puckster is telling all truth right now. So maybe she didn't sex us all up, 'cuz none of you two are as awesome and fucking sexy as me, but Finn you've practically boned her with your clothes on and Sammy boy has used his fishy lips to suck on more than air around her."

"Ok, you're being a complete asshole right now, man," Finn glares, taking a step towards his friend.

Sam's about to diffuse the situation by playing peacemaker, when a series of honks from Finn's truck steals their attention.

"Sammy are you guys done yet?" a squeaky voice yells. "I really want my kids meal now, and Finn said he'd buy me an ice cream too!"

Puck breathes out in relief. "Man, Evans, your little sister is a life savior. She's like a pint-sized female version of the Good Lord. You should seriously consider making her switch to Judaism. It's way better than this Messiah crap Quinn preaches."

"Hey!" she tells him. "Christianity is not _crap._"

More honks come from the street, and Puck says he'll jog there to keep the two pipsqueaks company. He salutes and winks at Quinn, then jets off in the direction of Finn's 4Runner.

"I think that was his version of an apology," Sam explains. He sees Puck profusely run his hand through his mohawk, so he knows the other boy is having trouble entertaining his brother and sister. He hates to impose on Finn and Quinn, but he seriously needs to feed his siblings some food and then get them to bed. "Hey, is it alright if we go man? Bedtime's in like two hours."

Finn nods, telling him to start the truck and that he'll be there in a minute. Smiling, he thanks the taller boy.

"I'll see ya later, Quinn!" he waves, walking backwards towards the street.

Sitting down in the side seat, he turns the key in the ignition. He looks up at Quinn's house, and sees her kissing Finn. He feels the tightening of his gut and the jumping movement of his stomach.

"Eww!" Stacy says from the back. "Why is Quinn kissing Finn? Doesn't she know that all boys have cooties? That's go gross, Sammy!"

"Totally, Stace," he agrees. "So gross."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **So I was inspired to write this chapter because I have to admit, I hated that last one. It was more of a filler chapter for the story. So without further ado, here's chapter three. (It has more Fabrevans, don't worry!) Enjoy! :)

**Disclaimer**: TGIGT! (Thank God It's Glee Tuesday!)

* * *

><p>He watches as the girl looking pretty in her blue dress runs off stage immediately after Kurt does. While he heard Blaine chasing McKinley's new prom queen, he knows that no one is following Quinn to wherever she's going because her boyfriend had acted like an idiot and gotten himself kicked out.<p>

He considers going after her, but Mercedes is clutching his arm right now in worry for their two friends. He doesn't want to be rude and just leave her, so he remains standing by her side.

After about fifteen minutes, the gym doors open again. Everyone stares in anticipation as Kurt walks calmly (and bravely, he notes) onto the stage. He catches Tina saying how bad she feels for him, but all he can think about is how proud he is of one of his first friends here at McKinley. The dude has serious guts doing what he's doing, and if anyone can make the homophobic pricks at school change, it's Kurt.

"Eat your heart out Kate Middleton," the porcelain boy softly speaks into the microphone, then moves to the front of the gym. Music begins playing and he's whispering something to Karofsky, and the old bully flees scared a minute later. Blaine saves the day though by asking his boyfriend to dance.

As Santana and Mercedes sing the opening lines to _Dancing Queen_, he turns to Rachel, who had just walked back into the gym herself, with Quinn in tow. The two girls had smiles on their faces, but he knew that behind their masks were tiredness and heartbreak.

He glances towards the direction of his ex-girlfriend, seeing her dance towards Santana and then proceed to throw balloons at his mohawked best friend. Jokingly doing one of his signature thrust moves at Rachel, he tries to pay attention to his date, succeeding because she laughs wholeheartedly at him.

The song switches to a slower one now, and he wraps his arm around Rachel's waist as the short girl tries to reach for his shoulders.

"I would be careful if I were you, Sam," she warns. "Coach Sylvester is probably patrolling right now, waiting for some poor unfortunate teenager to make one wrong move. It is quite a shame, honestly, because everyone deserves a chance to enjoy their junior prom."

"Everyone?" he questions. "Or Finn?"

She scoffs at him. "He and I are merely friends now. We lack any desires to become a bona fide power couple here at McKinley because he is currently enamored by Quinn, while I am content being the independent female role model for the other girls at this school."

"Lack any desires, huh?" he mockingly repeats her words. "I seem to remember you guys taking full advantage of the opportunity to spy on me _together _just a couple of weeks ago. Then there was the opportunity to do that Fleetwood Mac song that hurt Quinn. Seems to me like you guys sure don't have any shortages on desires to spend time with one another."

She sighs defeatedly at him. "Look, Sam, Finn and I share a much too-complicated relationship with each other. I understand that our friendship may result in some misunderstandings for people, such as Quinn who has clearly made her anger known by her display of violence earlier, however..."

"What!" he interjects. "Violence? Is Quinn ok? She's not too hurt is she?"

"Considering the fact that I was the one on the receiving end of her quite powerful slap, I would say that Quinn is in perfect condition, save for a broken nail, perhaps."

He laughs. "Sorry, Rachel, I'm glad you're alright too. It's just she worries me a lot sometimes. Whenever she helps me babysit my brother and sister, I always see this far-off expression in her eyes. Like she's thinking about something serious, and she has no power to control whatever it is that's bothering her. I don't know, maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me."

"You really care about her, don't you?" she asks honestly.

He shrugs. "Let's just say that what Quinn is to me, is what Finn is to you."

She stares at him with a confused expression on her face. "Truthfully, I do not know about how much importance Finn holds in my heart anymore. These past few weeks have opened my eyes to other people who have accepted and cared for me much more than he ever wanted to. My head says one thing, but then my heart says another, so I am presently in doubt as to what I should do with Finn."

Before he continue his heart-to-heart talk with her, a voice calls out from the other end of the gym.

"Diva! White boy! Where the hell are you two? It's time to take our pictures!"

"Well I suppose we better follow Mercedes and her requests now. We wouldn't want to keep Ms. Jones waiting," Rachel jokes, and he's completely shocked because he's never actually heard her kid around before.

He just dumbly nods in response. "Yeah, totally."

* * *

><p>His two prom dates scurry off to Kurt's Escalade, and he waves to them as they drive by. The girls, along with Kurt and Blaine, were off to Mike's after-prom party. He was invited to go too, but he still had to go work the night shift at <em>Mamma Mia! Pizza <em>until midnight.

He casually strolls back to his locker, so he can grab the extra work polo he keeps in there. Many of the other juniors pass by him, talking about Mike's party, gossiping about how Finn got kicked out with that 'cute curly-haired college boy,' or cruelly joking about Kurt winning prom queen.

Shaking his head in disgust, he spins his combination and gets his shirt. He starts to walk to his Jeep, which he had driven, when he hears light sniffling coming from the other side of the hallway. Stopping his steps, he turns back and follows the noise.

Before he reaches the person, he already knows who it is. It's a girl, her blonde hair in a fancy up-do, her heels cast off to the side, her sky blue dress rolled up a bit, so she can sit comfortably on the floor. She's got her head buried in her knees, which are pulled up towards her, and she doesn't seem to hear him.

He lowers his body directly in front of her, on the other side of the hall. Stretching out his legs to reach her, he gently nudges the side of her leg. "Prom not as fun fun fun as you pictured it?"

Hazel eyes lift up to stare sadly at him, and the girl is shaking her head. "Definitely much worse than I thought it'd be."

"I'm sorry," he says, trying to comfort her. "We always have next year's prom right? We'll be seniors too, so then we can be partying partying yeah!"

She faintly smiles at him. "Would you quit quoting that song?"

"Song's kind of catchy," he shrugs. "Besides, I'll never admit it to Puck, but it's not half bad. I mean, it made me realize that today is Friday, that yesterday was Thursday, that tomorrow is Saturday, and that Sunday comes afterwards."

Noticing how completely serious he is, she starts laughing. "You're such a dork, Sam."

He grins at her. "You love my quirkiness."

"It has its moments," she teases with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"So while I ignore that lie you obviously just told me, which by the way is a sin against God, heard you got into a battle royale with Rachel in the bathroom earlier. You two should have invited me. I bet you guys looked all hot fighting."

"Preaching about religion and acting like a pervert now? You've been spending way too much time with Puckerman."

"Well, the guy_ is _the closest thing I have to a best friend."

"Ah yes, the PuckerVans bromance."

He chuckles in laughter, unable to stop. "PuckerVans? Me and Puck get a name now? Seriously?"

"It was Kurt's idea," she dismisses with a wave of her hand.

"Dude really needs to understand that guys do not do the whole joining of our names thing," he answers with a shake of his head. "Anyways, don't think I didn't notice what you tried to do there. You attempted to change the subject, but luckily I've become smarter since we've broken up."

"Are you accusing me of causing you to act moronic while we were together?"

"No. And here's yet another example of you trying to avoid the topic. Why'd you hit Rachel?"

"Because Finn and she were practically tearing each other's clothes off with their eyes," she grumbles, crossing her arms.

He slides towards her now, sitting on her right side. "Yeah, well, Finn can't really choose between the two of you right now. Guy's totally confused like always."

"I don't understand why he can't just decide. It's not fair for me, and as much as I hate to say it, for Berry, to keep being played by him. And I'm scared because the last time our love triangle from hell happened, he picked her."

He rubs her shoulder to try to get her to calm down. "He'll choose you. I mean I witnessed his prom proposal. He clearly loves you."

"But I'm not sure," she fearfully admits. "I mean, I'd die before I ever told her this, but Rachel's kind of perfect. She's got the amazing voice, the determination to leave Lima forever, the pretty looks, and the self-confidence to not be afraid to be who she is. I, on the other hand, have no..."

The rest of her speech is muffled because he's covered her mouth with his hands. He moves it after she shoots him a deathly look. "Rachel's not perfect."

"Oh and I am?" she bitterly laughs.

"No, you're definitely far from perfect," he answers as she glares coldly at him. "You like to act mean for no apparent reason, suffer from these crazy mood swings, and have this crazy obsession with being the most popular girl in school."

"Is there a bright side to this pep talk you've decided to give me?" she interrupts.

"_But_," he continues. "You won't admit it, but you care for our glee crew far more than you think you should. You defend the people in glee club whenever someone other than you, or Santana, insults them. You support their decisions no matter who disagrees with you. You speak honestly to them, and no matter how much it may hurt you, you want what's the best for everyone."

"That just makes me a mean and judgmental _ice queen_ bitch," she says, staring down to the hands sitting on her lap. "Not like kind and forgiving Rachel the saint."

He places two fingers under her chin and forces her to look him in the eyes. "So what if you have some imperfections, Quinn? I mean if people didn't have flaws then the world would be completely boring. Personally, I'm not looking for Ms. Perfect, I'm searching for Ms. Right."

She breaks down then, and he pulls her toward him, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. After a few minutes of crying, she glances up at him with a small smile on her face. "Thanks Sam. You're _my_ best friend, you know that?"

"I'm honored," he replies, ignoring the faint thud he feels in his heart.

"You should be," she smirks at him. She moves away from him and starts to dab at the mascara lines that had streamed down her face.

When she's got most of it off, he stands up and offers her a hand so she can get up too. "So, you want a ride to Mike's party? I can give you a lift since it's on the way when I drive to work."

"No, it's ok," she shakes her head from side to side. "Do you think you can drop me off at my house instead?"

"Well...I don't know. It_ is_ in the other direction from where I'm going," he teases. Before she can say her reply, however, he keeps talking. "But for you, Lucy, anything."

She playfully glares at him. "I thought I told you and everyone at this school to never call me that."

"As your best friend, shouldn't I have the right to call you by your first name?" he mocks.

"No," she retorts and walks away from him, heading to the doors that lead to the parking lot.

He jogs because apparently she can walk fast when she puts her mind to it. Opening the door for her because he reaches it first, he sees a tall figure sitting on the hood of his truck.

"Finn? You got kicked out hours ago. What are you still doing here?" she gasps.

"I needed to apologize for the way I acted," Finn explains. "I never meant to ruin your prom. I knew how important it was for you."

She feels anger bubble inside her then because it wasn't about how he ruined prom, it was how he ruined their relationship. Because she loves him, and he isn't satisfied enough with her and had to hurt her by fooling around with Rachel.

Without any thinking, she suddenly storms over to Finn and slaps him across the cheek. It starts to turn red, and she can tell it stung because he's gingerly rubbing his hand on it.

"I deserved that," the star quarterback mumbles. "But you have to know I'm really sorry."

She crosses her arms and sends him a mean glare. "What's done is done, Finn."

"I know," he nods. "Can I give you a ride home? Make it up to you somehow?"

"I don't know," she replies, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

"You should go," he encourages. He watches Finn awkwardly stand there, waiting for Quinn's decision.

"Are you sure?" she asks. "It's kind of rude of me to just leave you for him when you practically salvaged the rest of my night."

"I'm a big boy now," he jokes. "I'll be fine. Besides, I have to be at work in ten minutes, so it's probably be best if you go with Finn. I'm sure he's got a lot to tell you, and you should listen to what he has to say."

She turns to him and hugs him. Pulling him down so his ear is level with her face, she whispers, "Thanks."

He nods as she walks away to climb into Finn's truck. He's about to leave when a voice stops him in his tracks.

"Thanks for taking care of her for me, man."

"For _her_, anytime," he shoots back and starts in the direction of his jeep.

* * *

><p>She turns around in her seat and stares as the blonde boy, who is in desperate need of a haircut, gets into his car. Her boyfriend drives out of the parking lot then, and he starts talking to her about how sorry he is.<p>

He mentions how he'll take her out on a date, how he'll dedicate a song to her in glee, and how he'll buy her yellow roses with sunflowers to match her hair. Before their fight, she would have thought it was sweet. But now, her feelings and her heart aren't so sure.

The conversation she had at the lockers and the parting words Sam had said to Finn are on constant replay in her mind, and her heart begins to thump in her chest. She doesn't know what it means, so she dismisses it as just a random heartbeat that was faster than the others.

She tries to focus on her boyfriend and his apologies, but all she can think about is the other boy who wanted to find his Ms. Right.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I apologize so so so so much to everyone for not updating in so long. I promise to upload chapters faster if you guys are still hopefully interested in my story :) With school almost done and senior year (YEAH!) approaching, I swear that I'll be able to get back faster to writing. Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter! Enjoy this one! :D

Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, Mercedes and Sam would break up in the summer because they realize they're meant to be friends. Matt would come back then and romance Mercedes like she deserves ('cuz I've always high key shipped them), or Artie would move on from Brittany and date her (since I've always low key shipped them due to Artie's [or Kevin McHale's] awesomely gangsta badassness and Mercedes's gangsta diva ways).

* * *

><p>Funerals were one of the things he hated most in the world. It was in his top five after spinach, crazy clowns, poverty in third world countries, and mislabeled hair dye.<p>

So of course, he can't help but squirm in the chapel as they wait for Mr. Schue to walk in with Coach Sylvester. It doesn't help that Quinn had decided to sit next to him with the recently forgiven Finn.

He feels someone tug at the back of his head. Turning slowly around, he sees Puck with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"You coming over to play _Mario Kart _with Chang and Wheels after this shindig's done?" the mohawked boy asks nonchalantly.

Before he can reply, the girl to his left replies unamused. "Show some courtesy, Puckerman. This shindig is a_ funeral_, and we shouldn't be rude so be respectful will you?"

"Listen, Sister Quinn," Puck says, "I may eat bacon as if my life depended on it and might forget to go to Temple every once in awhile, but I'm a proud Jewish stud. So don't try to force your Gentile traditions on me, ya hear?"

"She's not forcing any Christian beliefs on you, dude," Finn defends from his seat. "I'm pretty sure she's trying to say that we should play it cool 'cuz Coach Sue just lost her sister, so c'mon man knock it off."

"Always so noble," Puck retorts. "The Puckasaurus agrees to be cool though, and he'll be nice. Anyways Thor we hanging or not?"

He shakes his head. "Can't, I have to babysit today."

"L-A-M-E," Puck snorts, spelling the word. "You should just do what I do. Lock the brats in the room with a movie, a bucket of candy, and a pot to pee in."

"Noah, that is completely unsanitary," the girl on his right scoffs disapprovingly. "I swear if your mother knew about your unorthodox methods of babysitting, she would— "

"Well, no one's going to tell her then," the boy in the back interrupts.

Rachel seems to have a lecture she wants to give Puck, but before she can, Mr. Schue solemnly leads a sad Coach Sylvester into the room. In that moment, even though she tried to put brown hair dye in his shampoo in the locker room, and tended to call him by the names of blonde has-beens like Macaulay Culkin or Aaron Carter, he can't help but feel bad for her.

His emotions must show on his face because he feels his left hand being squeezed. WIthout looking, he knows who it is, but before he can glance in her direction, he sees her hand return to clutch the one on her boyfriend's lap.

Deciding to ignore the gesture, he redirects his attention to the front where the Cheerios coach tries to give her eulogy for her sister. After a few moments though, she clearly is too emotional to continue, so Mr. Schue reads it for her.

He listens intently to the part about being tethered to someone, and somehow he ends up staring at the blonde girl beside him. She seems to be emotionally touched by the words too because he notices how she grips Finn's hand tighter and closer to her.

As Mr. Schue nears the end of the speech, he stands with the rest of the glee club and moves to the front.

* * *

><p>Ignoring Finn's pleas about how he still loves her, she runs out of the truck. Most of the people have already left, so she tries to find an empty area where she can just cry.<p>

Finn was her ride home, but he clearly wasn't an option anymore. She'd ask Brittany or Mercedes, but they had left early. She had spied Puck in the parking lot and knew that he would offer her a ride, but she also doesn't want to argue with him right now.

As she turns on her phone, it blinks that she has one new message. It's her mother. _Quinn, honey, I know you're at the funeral right now, but I wanted to tell you I just left for my business trip. I'll see you in two days. Love you, Mom_

She sighs because her mom was her last hope, and she had forgotten about the business trip to Cleveland. Looking out the window, she notices how it's not completely dark yet, so she can probably just walk home.

Seeing a corridor where no one seems to be, she plops herself onto the floor. Just like last week at prom, she pulls her knees up and buries her head to hide her moment of weakness from the world.

She cries because she thought things with Finn would be different this time around. She sobs because no matter how hard she tries Rachel Berry would always be better than her. She lets out all her tears because no one understands or loves her, and she'll forever be alone in the world.

After a few minutes, she becomes aware of awkward shuffling near her. Afraid of who or _what _it could possibly be, she very slowly looks up, making sure her eyes are covered by her hair. All she sees are two dirty shoes with the initials S.E. written on the side of one of them.

"What do you want, Sam?" she asks, letting out a groan.

He takes a seat on the wall opposite her. "A little déjà vu don't you think?"

"What are you still doing here?" she throws back, ignoring his question.

He looks down with an embarrassed expression on his face. "I had to go pee."

"Yeah, well, I really don't want to talk to anyone right now," she says, bypassing his statement. "I just want to be left alone."

Suddenly he lets out a laugh, and she glares at him because she's clearly depressed at the moment, and he has the nerve to rub it in her face by making fun of her.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "It's just why would you want to be left alone? I mean they keep dead people here. Aren't you afraid their spirits are going to return to their bodies and chase you because you're the only living person in a one mile radius?"

"I forgot how crazy your imagination can get," she deadpans.

He raises his hands up in surrender. "Just being honest with you. I mean once when I was a kid, I was at my grandpappy's funeral. I was just minding my own business when all of a sudden my cousins thought it'd be fun to lock me in the basement where the coffins are. I'm pretty sure I peed in my pants more than three times that night."

"That's really gross."

"I was seven," he shrugs. "Can't blame me."

She nods. "Yeah well now that we've taken a trip down your memory lane, can you please just go now?"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," he answers.

She simply stares at him, trying to bore him enough to leave her alone. She appreciates his attempts to help her, but she doesn't want to be around anyone right now.

After a few moments, he looks down at his watch. "Oh crap! She's going to kill me."

"Who's going to kill you?" she asks curiously.

"My sister," he says nervously. "I was supposed to pick her and Stevie up from school ten minutes ago. She hates having to wait because then she misses these Powderpuff Chick reruns or something."

"It's _Powerpuff Girls_, Sam. I remember them. I used to watch it with Santana and Brittany in 8th grade when I transferred to McKinley," she corrects him. Upon realizing what she said, she adds, "And if you ever tell anyone I told you that, I'll make sure to tell Santana who'll probably go Lima Heights on you."

"Santana's one of the richest girls I know," he scoffs. "Not only does she live in a mansion, but she has maids, butlers, and a driver. When you add in the indoor swimming pool, the indoor movie theater, the indoor shooting range, and the indoor tanning salon, she has the sweetest place ever."

"I never knew she had a shooting range and tanning salon," she says.

"Apparently they had renovations last summer," he explains. "Anyways, I gotta go now. Unless you might possibly want to come with me? You know how much Stace and Stevie love you?"

He shoots her his puppy dog eyes, and if that wasn't enough, he had to use the 'my siblings adore you' card.

"Fine," she lets out. "But we're still not talking about anything."

He nods his head enthusiastically. "Deal! As long as you make sure my little sister doesn't kill me, then we're even."

Getting up quickly, he practically hauls her to stand up. He grabs her hand and tugs her to run to the parking lot with him.

* * *

><p>Their ride to McKinley Elementary is silent, and when they arrive there, he tells her to wait in the truck. He jogs into the school and prays that his two siblings didn't cause any trouble.<p>

He goes to the fourth grade classroom first to pick up his younger brother. When he gets there, Stevie appears fine, standing with one of the girls in his class. Upon closer inspection though, he notices that his brother is wide-eyed and shocked.

He casually walks to the two fourth-graders. "Hey kid, ya ready to go?"

"Yeah," his brother nods and waves his hand at his friend. "See you tomorrow, Melanie."

"You ok there bud?" he asks after they step into the hall to get their sister. "You seem a bit out of it."

Stevie gives him a wide, toothy grin then. "I feel awesome."

They reach Stacy's second grade room and try to look for her. After a few seconds of looking, their sister is nowhere to be found. He spies the teacher in one of the corners cleaning up a puddle of red paint.

"Hey, Mrs. Nelson," he says. "Do you know where Stacy is?"

"It's good to see you, Samuel," she nods her head primly at him. "I'm afraid your hooligan sister ran out of here ten minutes ago covered in paint, yelling 'freedom' at the top of her lungs. I fortunately haven't seen her since then. Now if you shall excuse me, I must get back to this mess she has caused."

He winces because he was afraid this would happen. "Thanks, Mrs. Nelson."

The elderly woman gives him another nod in response and turns her back on him to continue wiping up the paint.

Stepping into the hallway again, he looks down at his brother. "Any ideas where she might be?"

Stevie shrugs. "She could be anywhere. My bet's the playground though."

"Ok," he answers. "Well Quinn's in the car, so I'll leave you there with her, while I try to look for Stacy."

"Quinn's here?" his brother grins brightly.

They arrive at the truck then, and he opens the backseat door for Stevie who quickly goes in and greets Quinn.

"Hey do you think you can watch him for me real quick?" he pleads. "Stacy's running around the school somewhere, and I'm going to try and find her. Will you guys be alright in here?"

Quinn, who has a weirdly amused expression on her face, tells him they'll be fine. He thanks her and runs back into the school, yelling for his younger sister to come out of hiding.

* * *

><p>He searches all around the school for about fifteen minutes before he goes back outside to ask Quinn and Stevie for help. When he reaches the car, however, he's shocked to find his sister in the front seat. She's sitting on Quinn's lap, clean and laughing.<p>

"Stacy?" he asks confused. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere."

His sister smiles innocently at him. "I was in here with Quinn, silly. When you left the parking lot, she saw me and waved at me to come over. Then you put Stevie in here with us, so then we went to the bathroom to get the paint off."

"You knew where she was this whole time?" he splutters, turning to Quinn.

The girl just shoots him an evil smirk. "You never asked."

"I...but you...you never...and she," he says, but then gives up. "Let's just go home."

He tells Stacy to go into the back with Stevie, then climbs into the driver's seat. As he pulls out of the school lot, all of the questions in his head start to bother him.

"So do you mind telling me why you thought it'd be a good idea to run around in red paint, Stace?" he asks sternly, glancing at her from the rearview mirror.

His sister answers in a squeaky voice, "Well Noah came to get Hannah, and then he asked if I needed a ride home, too. I said no because you were 'posed to come for me. They stayed for awhile, and we all hung out."

"You call him Noah?" Quinn asks in surprise.

"Apparently, only the youth of Lima who are 'badass' are the few who deserve the privilege," he explains in his best Puck voice.

Stacy squeals in the back. "You said a bad word. I'm telling!"

"Whatever," he grunts. "Anyways, how do you go from hanging out with the Puckermans to running around in paint?"

"Your friend, Rachel, came and said they had to go," his sister continues. "So then they had to go, but Puck dared me to do it, and you always have to do a dare, Sammy."

"Remind me to never have Puck hang out with you again," he groans, then looks at his brother. "What about you, Stevie? How was your day?"

His brother mumbles something incoherently, and before he can ask again, Quinn explains for him.

"Your brother broke my heart today," she teases. "He kissed a girl named Melanie in his class."

"You what!" he shouts, slamming on the brakes at a red light.

"It was her fault! Please don't be mad!" his brother begs, throwing his hands up in the air. "She said I looked cute today, and just kissed me."

"No, I'm happy for you, dude," he admits, then adds in a jealous tone, "I didn't get my first kiss 'til this year."

"Really?" his brother asks with a smug grin.

"Yeah, really," he retorts, nodding his head at the girl next to him. "It was Quinn."

"Sammy and Quinn sitting in a tree," his sister yells. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes—"

He interrupts before the girl can get any further in her song. "Ok, Stace, no more singing! We're here and looks like mom and dad are home early. So I'm going to leave you two here with them, while I drop Quinn off at her house."

"So you and Quinn can do more kissy kissy?" his sister asks.

"No Quinn and I will not be doing kissy kissy," he says, stepping out of the driver's seat and moving to open the door for his siblings. "She's dating Finn now, remember?"

"Oh yeah," his sister answers sadly.

"That's right," he replies. "Quinn, I'll be right back. I just have to take these two munchkins to my parents and then I can take you to your house."

Quinn nods her head as Stevie yells out in protest at the nickname.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, they're on their way to Dudley Road. Just like before they picked up his siblings, the car ride is silent. Every once in awhile he sneaks a peek at the pretty girl next to him, but her eyes remain glued to the road in front of them.<p>

He's about to say something charming and witty when she breaks the silence for him. "You lied to your sister earlier."

"Did I?" he plays along.

"Yeah," she replies. "Finn broke up with me today. He said I didn't _feel _enough for him."

"Like when you guys made out?" he asks confused. " 'Cuz when we went out, we didn't really grope that much either. It's just one of your rules."

"No, you idiot," she says, hitting his bicep. "Like emotionally. We didn't communicate enough apparently, so then he never knew what I was feeling."

"Well then the guy's stupid. I mean would you be crying your eyes out earlier, if you didn't feel anything? I mean you didn't even care that your make-up was a mess, and don't even get me started about your hair—"

"Sam!"

"Oh right, sorry. Well for a girl who just had her heart torn out, you look amazing."

"You lied to me too, you know. You told me last week that he'd pick me over her, but you were wrong. He dumped me because as soon as he saw someone else show an interest in his precious Rachel, he had to make a move."

"So I was wrong, big deal. He was wrong too when he broke up with you. I mean sure Rachel's this great girl with an awesome voice and the determination to get out of Lima, but the thing is Quinn so are you."

"No I'm not. I'm just the Lima loser who got pregnant in high school. I'll be tied down to this place forever, become one of the the town's best real estate agents, and eventually marry Finn when Rachel leaves him behind for Broadway."

Pulling into her driveway, he hits the steering wheel in frustration. "I don't know why keep saying that _bullshit. _You're not some untalented nobody that can't get out of Ohio. You're so much better than all this, and if you just spent less time obsessing over your stupid popularity, then you'd see that you can be more than this town."

She gives him a sad look and opens the car door. "You're just too naive to realize anything, Sam. Life's not always about your imaginary world of fairy tales and happy endings. Sometimes they're full of heartbreak and failure."

As she walks into her house, he stares at her broken form. He doesn't understand why she can never see that there's more to life than high school. He's mad at her because she keeps putting herself down, not seeing that she's one, if not the, strongest person he knows. He wants her to open her eyes because the only one preventing her dreams of getting out of Lima is herself.

* * *

><p>He doesn't talk to her for a couple of days. It's not that he doesn't want to, but it's just glee rehearsals for nationals were becoming more rigorous. Before he knows it, he's at Ohio's Dayton International Airport.<p>

Besides Rachel, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Mike, and himself, nobody in their group had ever been on a plane. It was why Puck had practically kidnapped him at the motel at six o'clock in the morning in order to 'explore their surroundings' before their flight. It was also why he was now running away from a team of security guards after Puck had convinced him to steal one of the golf carts. He had been forced to drive, while Puck tied a rope to the vehicle and rode around on his skateboard.

One of the guards had stopped them, and now they're trying to escape and find their glee club. He's passing a checkout gate when suddenly he runs into Kurt and Mercedes, and from his peripheral vision, he's pretty sure Puck had run into Rachel. They both drag the trio behind one of the pillars in the aiport, attempting to hide behind the three diva's massive amounts of luggage.

When Puck gives him a thumbs up, he looks down at Mercedes, who he had been apparently clutching onto, and shoots her a wide grin. "Thanks for helping us out."

"Do we even want to know why you two were running?" Kurt asks, dusting off his coat.

He shakes his head. "That's classified information, I'm afraid."

From his arms, he feels Mercedes let out a laugh, and he realizes that he's still holding onto her. Embarrassed, he lets her go and thanks her again for the help.

"What the fuck is with all these bags, Berry?" he hears Puck tell Rachel. "You're not moving to New York yet, we're only going to be there for four fucking days tops."

He turns around and sees Rachel cross her arms. "Well Noah, unlike you and your one insufficient duffel bag of belongings, I must be prepared for any circumstances that may arise when we arrive in the city that never sleeps."

"Whatever," Puck chuckles. "It's your problem and shit to drag, not mine."

The short girl seems to realize her problem then, and she gives Puck and him the biggest brown eyes he's ever seen. They both know she's trying to get them to carry her bags.

Puck mutters, "No fucking way," but he's always been a gentlemen, so he volunteers them, saying, "Sure."

Picking up one of Rachel's five suitcases, he tosses it at Puck who's giving him a glare. As he hands his friend another one and takes two of the remaining three, Puck leans in close, so no one else can hear what he has to say.

"I fucking hate you," the mohawked boy complains. "You better hope we don't sit next to each other on the plane, 'cuz your ass is dead."

He knows his friend is joking, so he just smirks. "I love you too, man."

* * *

><p>Unfortunately for him, Puck and he had both ended up in the same row of seats. Luckily though, he had gotten the window seat, and Quinn was in the middle to prevent any violence from Puck.<p>

He glances around and notices the weird arrangements Mr. Schue's put them in. On the other side of the plane, Kurt was sitting next to Santana who was in the middle, while Finn had the aisle seat to stretch out his freakishly long legs. Behind them, Mike was stuck between Mercedes and Artie. Then in front of Puck, Quinn, and him, was Rachel and Brittany with an empty seat. In the very back of the plane, Mr. Schue sat with Tina and Lauren.

As he looks at where everyone is seated, he begins to hear a dull kicking sound.

"Noah!" Rachel hisses. "Would you kindly quit being such an ass?"

"I thought he was a Puckasaurus," Brittany pipes up brightly.

"Brit's right, babe, this stud's one hundred percent Puckasaurus," his friend says. "It's payback for all that shit you made me carry."

"Ugh!" the brunette girl huffs. Puck quits kicking though when the captain's voice is heard on the speakers, telling them all to buckle up and to have a nice flight.

He obeys the orders and grins when the seatbelt makes its customary 'click' sound. Lifting up the window, he looks at the tiny men directing the plane where to go and at the runway they're approaching. He's so focused on the view outside that he jumps when someone suddenly grabs his left hand.

"Sorry," the blonde next to him apologizes. "Take off's always been scary for me."

Over the top of her head, he can see Puck smirking. "No way, Fabray, you're fucking scared of planes?"

"I'm not fucking scared of planes, Puckerman," the girl angrily repeats. "Just the part where we have to go up thousands of feet in the air."

Shooting Puck a glare, he reassures her. "Everything's going to be fine, Quinn. Isn't that right, Puck?"

The mohawked boy seems to be in shock at what Quinn had just said. "Yeah, baby mama, it's not like we're going to die or anything when we shoot up into the sky...right Evans?"

"Yeah we'll be fine, Puckerman," he sighs because of course he'd end up sitting next to the only two people who'd be afraid of take off. He tries to take their minds off of the ascent into the sky. "So Quinn watch any good movies lately? Puck and I just watched_ X-Men: First Class_ this weekend. It was so sick with all the superheroes and their cool superpowers."

He notices Puck give a half-grin. "Dude, Q, you should've totally gone with us. That Emma Frost chick was so fucking fine, and that Magneto guy was such a fucking badass."

"You two are the biggest dorks I've ever met," the girl answers with a small smile.

"Puck's lying," he says, shaking his head. "The awesomest one had to be Havok. I mean he could shoot rays off of himself. And that doesn't even include the guy's hair, and the dude definitely knew the best workouts for his body."

Puck starts laughing. "You're such a pussy, Evans."

They continue their whimsical conversation for the whole flight. Puck and he talk about_ X-Men _and comic books and _Mario Kart _and baseball, while she makes them listen to _Spice Girls_ songs, managing to also convince them to play one of the games in her _Cosmo_ magazine.

And when the plane lands in New York a few hours later, he only had to calm one friend down. (It wasn't the girl next to him.)

* * *

><p>She had tried so hard to get Finn back, but the boy was determined to woo Rachel and was immune to her advances. Sitting in the girls' room, she fists the sheets in her hands in anger then stomps into the bathroom. She ignores everyone staring at her as she locks the door.<p>

She takes a strand of her hair and inspects it. Then she looks at her hazel eyes and tries to see what's so special about it. She continues the examination of every part of her face: her nose, her lips, her cheek bones, _everything_.

People tell her all the time that she's the epitome of beauty, but she honestly can't see it. If she was this perfect girl who looks so pretty, then why can Finn pick Rachel over her, why can Puck leave her after Beth, and why can no one ever _love_ her.

She spends countless minutes scrutinizing her appearance and her flaws. Maybe no one ever cares about her because she acts like a heartless, cold bitch all the time, she thinks. It's not her fault though. She's just trying to protect herself, from heartbreak, from failure, and from the people around her.

Losing track of time, she doesn't realize she's been in the bathroom for so long until she hears Santana knocking obnoxiously outside. A wave of anger hits her then because the Latina had been her friend once, but just like everyone else, she had abandoned her too.

After running a hand quickly through her hair, she unlocks the door and walks past Santana and Brittany. They ask her what took her so long in the bathroom. She doesn't want to answer their questions, so she tells them about her plans instead. She anticipates them to lecture her about how what she's doing is wrong, but she doesn't expect her breaking down in front of her former friends.

As she yells at them and sits on the bed, they sit on either side of her. She finally admits to them the one thing she craves most in the world, _love_.

While Brittany brushes her hands through her long blonde hair, the girl on her right vaguely mentions something that will make her feel better. She's known Santana for a long time, and she isn't stupid. She had figured out a long time ago that the girl was gay. It was fairly obvious. The Latina had stayed the longest in the locker rooms, tended to slap other Cheerio's butts after a good practice, and suggested spin-the-bottle at sleepovers.

She appreciates the attempt to cheer her up, but she's really not into those kinds of things and voices this out to the other two girls. The Santana of this year would have retorted with a scathing remark, but the old Santana, her friend from her first day at McKinley, returns and offers her a haircut.

As the Latina grabs her right hand to reassure her and the fellow blonde next to her squeezes her left hand, she leans her head on Santana's shoulder.

After a few moments of silence, Brittany starts to giggle. Santana and she look at each other, then stare at the blonde, waiting for her to explain.

"We're like those cheerleaders from _One Tree Hill_," the girl says as she continues to laugh.

"No fucking way, Brit. I'm way hotter than those sluts," Santana snickers next to her. "And I guess you and Q here look a bit more hot than them, too."

Brittany shakes her head. "No, San. Lord Tubbington made me watch the show with him the other day, and he said that we each have our own character. I'm Peyton, Quinn's Brooke, and you're Rachel."

"But you're not a backstabbing, boyfriend-stealing bitch, B," she explains, then smirks at the other girl next to her. "San is though."

"Hmm, maybe Britt is right, Q," Santana replies with a teasing glint in her eye. "I mean you are kind of a slutty and skanky whore like Brooke."

"And this is why you're Rachel," she says, hitting Santana with a pillow that she had discreetly grabbed from behind them.

A huge pillow fight ensues with Brittany bouncing on the bed, Santana throwing anything within reach, and her dodging items being tossed.

They end up being an hour late to their song writing session. It was a good thing Mr. Schue had sent Tina for them because if it wasn't for her knocking on the door, they would've probably missed the whole meeting.

She's missed this, missed friendship, but most of all, missed them.

* * *

><p>Everyone in the club has their backs turned when the crowd gasps. She's always been a curious person, so she casually sneaks a glance at what's going on.<p>

The sight of Finn kissing Rachel doesn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

As she turns her head back, she catches Puck's eye. She sees him fist his hands at his sides, and she shoots him a questioning look. He merely shakes his head though and mouths for her to forget about it. There's clearly something there, but she decides to listen to the mohawked boy just this one time.

They perform their second song, and the audience loves it. The club cheers and jumps in excitement at the possibility of making it to the next round.

When she turns to the right though, there's a sight that makes her stomach drop. It's Sam, and he's hugging Mercedes with a big smile on his face.

She plasters on a grin on her face then, and tries to find Santana and Brittany in the chaos.

* * *

><p>They leave New York with broken dreams and broken hearts.<p>

Everyone, except Rachel and Mr. Schue, gives Finn a cold shoulder when they board the plane home.

The group had been able to choose their seats this time as a consolation prize for twelfth place. They occupy almost all of the right side of the plane, sitting in threes: Rachel, Finn, Mr. Schue; Kurt, Mercedes, Lauren; Artie, Mike, Tina; and Brittany, Santana, and her. Puck and Sam are in the back and the only pair.

She sits in the aisle with Santana in the middle and Brittany near the window because the blonde dancer had called infinity dibs, and nobody was going to argue with her.

As Puck throws his skateboard into the overhead storing bins above their heads, he leers at them.

"If you three ladies decide to join the mile high club during the flight, please feel free to let the Puckerone know, so he can properly service your needs."

"Fuck you, Puckerman," Santana scoffs.

The mohawked boy just crosses his arms in response. "Please do, Lopez."

As Brittany and she struggle to keep the Latina from attacking Puck, a shaggy blonde head appears and pushes the muscular boy forward.

"Cool it, man," Sam reasons. "It's not the time to be your pervy self."

She hears Puck drop into the seat behind them as he complains, "Evans, you don't understand. The Cheerio trio is back together, and a foursome with those three has been in the Puckerman spank bank for years."

While she lets out a noise of disgust, the Latina sits up and glares at Puck.

"It's the fucking unholy trinity," Santana explains calmly. "Get it right, _puta_."

"Unholy trinity, really?" she asks amused as Brittany gives her opinion about the name being cute.

Santana shrugs nonchalantly. "Hummel's got a gift with monikers."

Even though the flight is filled with the banter of Santana and Puck, and the disgustingly adorable flirting between Brittany and Santana, she smiles through it all because she didn't have _love_, but she had Santana and Brittany, who both gave her enough love (albeit in their own unique ways) that made up for it.

* * *

><p>He dates Mercedes because she's the first girl in a long time who acts nice to him.<p>

She's everything a good girlfriend should be. She always tells him the truth, always makes him laugh, and always listens to what he has to say. She never jokes about his mouth, never calls him names, and never tells him to stop talking when he speaks Na'vi.

The only problem is that she wants to keep them a secret, and he's ready to tell all their friends that they're dating.

When he talks to her about it, she yells at him and throws out slang terms he doesn't know. It's their first fight.

He's determined though and wants to make this relationship work, so he reunites the _Justin Bieber Experience_ to serenade her in their fun, do-whatever-you-want-as-long-as-you're-singing glee practices.

They sing _I Want It That Way _by the Backstreet Boys for her, and it causes the two of them to come out with their relationship.

As his girlfriend playfully lectures him about not wanting to be sung 'white boy music' the next time they fight, he locks eyes with the girl all his songs used to be dedicated to.

She looks away quickly, but his heart still decides to beat erratically in his chest. Dismissing the return of old emotions, he focuses on his girlfriend again because she deserves his loyalty and attention, and he deserves happiness and love for once.


End file.
